Meet Eric Johnson

We recently connected with Eric Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Back when I was a teenager, I started out as an artist. Inspired by Eminem and Tupac who were hugely influential at that time, I was rapping and performing. Later on, after moving to LA with my bandmate who produced for me, we formed a pop group that got signed by a major management team and agency. We had many years of playing great shows, office meetings, collaborations with big name producers and other artists. However, we never crossed that proverbial “finish line.” Our dream was to get signed by a major label and become superstars. After all, that’s why you move to LA, right?! Eventually, we got older and pivoted to a more behind the scenes role and started Ni Music Group. We realized that that’s where our tru strengths were and helping other aspiring artists meant more to us than our own spotlight. Seeing the joy these young artists get when they go from an idea to a fully-recorded song and music video to seeing their song released, is all worth it. That’s now our purpose. We aim to provide the guidance to others that we didn’t get when we started out.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m the CEO and president of Ni Music Group. We’re an artist development company based in Los Angeles. As I mentioned previously, I used to be an artist myself. My bandmate and I loved writing, singing, performing and connecting with our audience. We moved to LA in our early 20’s and found our scene immediately. We got discovered by a major management team, signed with a top 5 agency, played some great shows and worked with platinum producers. Our journey was fruitful and exciting but ultimately we became a bit burnt out from it all. That was when we decided to take a new path and pivot from artists in the spotlight to a more behind the scenes vision. Something we realized was that the major labels moved away from artist development. It’s now entirely up to the artists themselves to be a fully well-rounded, established machine. Only then will a label step in. This didn’t use to be the case. So what we’re left with is great singers who’ve never played a show in their lives suddenly going from their bedrooms to MSG overnight. Our goal is to help these young artists form some sort of identity, write their own stories into song and build their repertoire up so they can spread their wings and take the leap. It’s a competitive and often times scary industry so we wanted to be a small light in the dark to guide them! It’s always so inspiring to me to see the smiles on the faces of these artists as they see their ideas become fully-fledged songs and awesome music videos.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three qualities that have been most impactful are work ethic, networking and being optimistic. It’s not always the hardest workers who succeed but sitting on your couch won’t do a damn thing. Meeting people and being kind to everyone is probably the most important thing. It’s about relationships because even the most talented singers and performers are nothing without the folks around them. My advice is to get out and be part of the community. Meet like-minded people and connect with all of them. Make yourself available, ready to work, have a good attitude but stand your ground. The best way to do this is by throwing yourself into the deep end.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

I played semi-professional baseball when I was a teenager but unfortunately an injury ended my career short. I had no plan B. My parents weren’t very supportive about it and they saw me hit a low point. The one main thing they did do was send me to live with my uncle in California. It was a tough love moment that really taught me how to manage on my own and be resourceful. I think that ultimately led to me starting Ni.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nimusicgroup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nimusicgroup.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nimusicgroup
• Other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Level_(film)